U.S. patent application number 14/149692 was filed with the patent office on 2015-07-09 for aerodynamic straw and straw mount.
This patent application is currently assigned to FELT RACING, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is FELT RACING, LLC. Invention is credited to Anton A. Petrov.
Application Number | 20150191211 14/149692 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53494601 |
Filed Date | 2015-07-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150191211 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Petrov; Anton A. |
July 9, 2015 |
AERODYNAMIC STRAW AND STRAW MOUNT
Abstract
An aerodynamic straw and a straw mount for selectively
positioning the aerodynamic straw is disclosed. In this manner, a
mouthpiece of the straw can be optimally positioned so that the
rider need only move his or her head slightly to bite down on the
mouthpiece and hydrate him or herself during a ride. In this
manner, the rider can maintain the aerodynamic tucked in position
while riding a road bicycle.
Inventors: |
Petrov; Anton A.; (Lake
Forest, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FELT RACING, LLC |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
FELT RACING, LLC
Irvine
CA
|
Family ID: |
53494601 |
Appl. No.: |
14/149692 |
Filed: |
January 7, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
224/414 ;
224/448 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62J 11/00 20130101;
B62J 99/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B62J 11/00 20060101
B62J011/00; B62J 99/00 20060101 B62J099/00 |
Claims
1. A straw mount for positioning an upper distal end of a straw
adjacent to a rider's mouth when riding a road bicycle, the mount
comprising: a first member being attachable to a handlebar of the
bicycle, the first member having a plurality of radially extending
teeth; a second member being rotatable with respect to the first
member, the second member having a corresponding plurality of
radially extending teeth; a liquid tube for providing liquid to the
rider's mouth from a water storage compartment, the liquid tube
being positionable based on the rotation of the second member to
the first member.
2. The straw mount of claim 1 wherein the second member is
displaceable away from the first member to disengage the teeth of
the first and second members to allow rotation of the second member
with respect to the first member.
3. The straw mount of claim 2 wherein the second member is biased
toward the first member to engage the teeth of the first and second
members to prevent rotation of the second member with respect to
the first member.
4. The straw mount of claim 3 wherein the second member is biased
toward the first member with a compression spring.
5. An aerodynamic straw to deliver liquid from a liquid bladder to
a mouth of a bicycle rider, the straw comprising: a tube having a
lumen for delivering the liquid from the liquid bladder to the
mouth of the bicycle rider, the lumen being sized and configured to
allow for water flow so that the rider may drink from the straw;
wherein an exterior surface of the tube has an aerodynamic cross
sectional configuration.
6. The straw of claim 5 wherein the aerodynamic cross sectional
configuration is oval.
7. The straw of claim 6 wherein oval cross section defines a front
half which is substantially identical to a back half of the
tube.
8. The straw of claim 6 wherein a maximum thickness of the tube is
at about 50% of a chord length of the oval cross section of the
tube.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Not Applicable
STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND
[0003] The present invention relates to an aerodynamic straw and a
straw mount for aerodynamically positioning a straw on a
bicycle.
[0004] In road cycling racing events, riders ride their bicycles
over an extended period of time. Throughout this period of time,
the rider must stay hydrated. To this end, the rider will store
water or a hydration fluid in a bottle mounted to the bicycle or
backpack. In order to hydrate oneself, the rider must release one
hand from the handlebar to grab the water bottle. Additionally, the
rider must sit upright to invert the water bottle and drink the
fluid therein. Such movements create aerodynamic
inefficiencies.
[0005] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved
method and device for hydration while riding a bicycle.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0006] The various embodiments and aspects disclosed herein address
the needs discussed above, discussed below and those that are known
in the art.
[0007] An aerodynamic straw is disclosed which is aerodynamically
positioned so that a mouthpiece of the aerodynamic straw is
juxtaposed to the rider's mouth. When the rider needs to hydrate
him or herself, the rider need only move his or her head slightly
so that his or her mouth may bite down on the mouthpiece of the
straw and suck in the fluid delivered by way of the straw which is
connected to a hydration storage container located elsewhere either
on the bicycle or rider. Additionally, the straw may be adjusted
front to back as well as tilted in order to optimally position the
mouthpiece of the straw immediately adjacent to the mouth of the
rider.
[0008] More particularly, a straw mount for positioning an upper
distal end of a straw adjacent to a rider's mouth when riding a
road bicycle is disclosed. The mount may comprise a first member, a
second member and a liquid tube. The first member may be attachable
to a handlebar of the bicycle. The first member may have a
plurality of radially extending teeth. The second member may be
rotatable with respect to the first member. The second member may
have a corresponding plurality of radially extending teeth. The
liquid tube may be in fluid communication with and provide liquid
to the rider's mouth from a water storage compartment. The liquid
tube and more particularly the mouthpiece attached to the upper
distal end of the tube may be positioned by rotating the second
member to the first member for aerodynamic purposes.
[0009] The second member may be displaced away from the first
member to disengage the teeth of the first and second members to
allow for rotation of the second member with respect to the first
member. The second member may be biased toward the first member to
engage the teeth of the first and second members to prevent
rotation of the second member with respect to the first member
after the unit is set in place. The second member may be biased
toward the first member with a compression spring.
[0010] In another aspect, an aerodynamic straw to deliver liquid
from a liquid bladder to a mouth of a bicycle rider is disclosed.
The straw may comprise a tube having a lumen for delivering the
liquid from the liquid bladder to the mouth of the bicycle rider.
The lumen may be sized and configured to allow for water flow so
that the rider may drink from the straw. An exterior surface of the
tube may have an aerodynamic cross sectional configuration. The
aerodynamic cross sectional configuration may be oval. The oval
cross section may have a front half which is substantially
identical to a back half of the tube. A maximum thickness of the
tube may be at about 50% of a chord length of the oval cross
section of the tube.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] These and other features and advantages of the various
embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect
to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers
refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a straw mount and an
aerodynamic tube;
[0013] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the straw mount shown in FIG.
1;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the straw mount with
teeth in an engaged position;
[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates the straw mount shown in FIG. 3 with the
teeth in a disengaged position; and
[0016] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the aerodynamic straw
shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Referring now to the drawings, an aerodynamic straw 10 and a
method for using the same is disclosed. The aerodynamic straw 10
has an aerodynamic cross-sectional configuration in the direction
of airflow (i.e., bicycle forward travel) to minimize drag.
Moreover, the aerodynamic straw 10 has a mouthpiece 12 that can be
placed at a plurality of positions front to back so that the
mouthpiece 12 is located closely adjacent to a bicycle rider's
mouth. In this manner, when the rider desires to hydrate him or
herself, the rider need only bite down on the mouthpiece 12 and
drink water. The rider does not need to move his or her body
position and hands to drink water. Accordingly, the aerodynamic
tucked in position of the rider does not need to be disturbed to
drink hydration liquid. Accordingly, the aerodynamic tucked in
position can be maintained for a longer period of time and is not
interrupted by the need to hydrate. The aerodynamic straw 10 has an
aerodynamic structural configuration and also its use allows the
user to maintain the aerodynamic tucked in position for a longer
period of time.
[0018] More particularly, referring now to FIG. 1, the aerodynamic
straw 10 may be mounted to a handlebar of a bicycle. The
aerodynamic straw 10 may be mounted to one of two aerobars of the
road bicycle, as shown in FIG. 1. The aerodynamic straw 10 has a
mounting member 14. An inner surface 16 of the mounting member 14
may have a curved configuration that corresponds to the
configuration of the aerobar 18. The aerobar 18 is typically an
extension mounted off of the handlebar of the road bicycle so that
the rider can lean on the aerobars 18 with his or her forearms to
more comfortably maintain the aerodynamic tucked in position. The
mounting member 14 may have two hooks 20, 22. To mount the
aerodynamic straw 10 to the aerobar 18, the inner surface 16 is
placed against the outer surface of the aerobar 18. An oval elastic
member 24 is hooked around one of the two hooks 20, 22. The other
end of the oval elastic member 24 is engaged to the other one of
the two hooks 20, 22. In FIG. 1, the oval elastic member 24 is
hooked around the lower hook 22. A finger tab 26 is used to stretch
the oval elastic member 24 open so that the oval elastic member 24
can engage the upper hook 20.
[0019] The aerodynamic straw 10 is positioned along the
longitudinal length 28 of the aerobar 18 so that a tube 30 that
extends back to a water storage container 32 is generally straight.
When the bicycle is moving forward, the air is moving in the
direction of arrow 34. The tube 30 should be generally in line with
the air direction to cause as little aerodynamic drag during
riding. Accordingly, the frontal profile of the tube 30 would
ideally be the cross-section of the tube 30 to minimize aerodynamic
drag. To keep the tube straight, the rider or person installing the
aerodynamic straw 10 may cut the tube 30 so that when the rider is
in the aerodynamic tucked in position, the mouthpiece 12 of the
aerodynamic straw 10 is located juxtaposed to the rider's mouth. To
drink water, the rider need only lower his or her head slightly so
that the rider can bite down on the mouthpiece 12 to drink water.
With the tube 30 cut to the proper length to achieve aerodynamic
benefits, the mounting member 14 may be secured to the aerobar 18
to properly position the tube 70 for aerodynamic purposes.
[0020] In certain situations either the tube 30 cannot be cut to
the proper length to position the mouthpiece 12 near the rider's
mouth or minute positional adjustments may be necessary to position
the mouthpiece 12 so that the rider can conveniently bite down on
the mouthpiece 12 while riding the bicycle in an aerodynamic tucked
in position. To this end, the aerodynamic straw 10 allows the rider
or installer to move the mouthpiece 12 front or back by rotating
the mouthpiece 12 about a pivot axis 36. To rotate the mouthpiece
12, the aerodynamic straw 10 has a joint 38 or knuckle that allows
the user to rotate and lock the position of the mouthpiece 12.
[0021] The joint 38 includes the mounting member 14 and a straw
member 40. The mounting member 14 and the straw member 40 have
corresponding interlocking pieces 42, 44. The straw member 40 is
normally biased so that the teeth 42, 44 are engaged to each other
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. In the engaged position, the position of
the mouthpiece 12 is locked in place. To adjust the front to back
positioning of the mouthpiece 12, the user may pull on the straw
member 40 in the direction of arrow 46 along pivot axis 36, as
shown in FIG. 2. This overcomes the biasing force that biases the
straw member 40 against the mounting member 14. At this point, the
teeth 42, 44 become disengaged and the straw member 40 may be
rotated about the pivot axis 36 as per directional arrow 48. The
user releases the straw member 40 and the straw member is biased
back against the mounting member 14 so that the teeth 42, 44 are
engaged and lock the rotational position of the straw member
40.
[0022] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the internal structure of
the joint 38 is shown. The joint 38 includes the mounting member 14
and the straw member 40. The mounting member 14 has a shoulder 50
and a protrusion 52. The protrusion 52 extends outward from the
shoulder 50 and may include a threaded hole 54. The straw member 40
has a through hole 56 which is sized and configured to receive the
protrusion 52 of the mounting member 14. The straw member 40 has a
base surface 58 that rests on the shoulders 50 of the mounting
member 14 when the teeth 42, 44 of the mounting member 14 and the
straw member 40 are engaged to each other, as shown in FIG. 3.
[0023] The protrusion 52 extends through the through hole 56 of the
straw member 40. The protrusion 52 is seated onto the inner surface
of the through hole 56 so that as the straw member 40 is pulled out
and released, the straw member 40 is relatively stable. An enlarged
cavity 60 is formed beyond the throughhole 56. The enlarged cavity
60 receives the protrusion 52 and a compression spring 62. The
compression spring 62 is seated on a bottom surface 60 formed by
the enlarged cavity 60. The other end of the compression spring 62
is seated on a washer 66 having a diameter greater than the outer
diameter of the protrusion 52. The washer 66 and spring 62 are
attached to the protrusion 52 by way of bolt or screw 68.
[0024] The distance 70 between the bottom surface 64 of the
enlarged cavity 60 and the washer 66 and the length of the spring
62 are sized so that the spring 62 places slight pressure to bias
the teeth 42, 44 of the mounting member 14 and the straw member 40
into engagement. Also, the spring 62 and the distance 70 are sized
to allow the user to pull the straw member 40 in the direction of
arrow 46 to disengage the teeth 42, 44 of the mounting member 14
and the straw member 40, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0025] Referring back to FIG. 1, a tube 72 may extend out from the
straw member 40. The tube 72 is in fluid communication with the
tube 30 which is in fluid communication with the water storage
container 32. The water storage container 32 may be a flexible
bladder mounted to the bicycle handlebar or frame or a water bottle
disposed in a water bottle cage on the down tube or seat tube of
the bicycle frame. The water storage container 32 may also be a
semi rigid or rigid container mounted to the handlebar or frame of
the bicycle. The tube 72 may extend generally upward during use so
that rider may reach downward and bite down on the mouthpiece
attached to the upper distal end of the tube 70 to drink
liquid.
[0026] The tube 70 may have an aerodynamic cross sectional
configuration, as shown in FIG. 5. The leading surface or edge may
have an arc shape. By way of example, the leading surface or edge
may have a cylindrical shape. The National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics (hereinafter "NACA") has developed a numbering system
that identifies the major characteristics of an airfoil shape. The
NACA numbering system may include four (4) digits (i.e., xxxx)
which the first two digits define the camber angle (i.e., xxxx) and
the last two digits define a maximum thickness (i.e., xxxx) of the
airfoil shape as a percentage of a chord length of the airfoil
shape. The NACA numbering system may be followed by a dash (-) with
two (2) numbers. The first (i.e., xxxx-xx) of the two numbers
following the dash (-) indicates the roundness of the leading
surface 40 and may be represented by the letter "I". A value of six
(6) indicates that the leading surface 40 has a radius similar to a
typical airfoil shape while a value of zero (0) indicates a sharp
leading edge. The typical airfoil shape has a round (i.e., circular
or arc) leading surface 40 approximated by the following equation,
r=1.1019.times.(I.times.t/6).sup.2 wherein "t" is the maximum
thickness of the airfoil shape as a fraction of the chord length
and "I" is equal to 6. This "r" value represents a NACA numbering
system xxxx-6x. The roundness of the leading surface 74 discussed
herein for the improved airfoil shape for bicycle may be in a range
between xxxx-1x to xxxx-5x. Preferably, based on the NACA standard,
the roundness of the leading surface 40 is about xxxx-4x. The
radius of the leading surface for the NACA numbering system xxxx-4x
is equal to r=1.1019.times.(3.times.t/6).sup.2. Preferably, the
leading surface 74 has a roundness of NACA 0053-45. The tube 74 is
designed so that the front half 76 is identical to the back half
78. The tube 74 is designed so that the maximum thickness is about
50% a chord length of the cross sectional configuration.
[0027] The tube 74 may be extruded. However, due to the tube 74
being oval (i.e., non-round), the polymeric material does not
deform uniformly after exiting the die of the extruder. As such,
the length 80 to width 82 ratio of the cross sectional
configuration of the tube 74 is designed to be 1.86 to 1, but the
production tube 74 has an aspect ratio of 1.41 to 1. The length 80
of the tube 74 is preferably about 16.3 mm and the width 82 about
11.5 mm. The length 80 of the tube may be up to about 35 mm with
the width 82 being no more than 15 mm. As such, the range of length
80 to width 82 ratios may be about 1.3:1 to 4:1. The inner diameter
84 of the tube 70 is sized to the outer diameter of the inlet of
the mouthpiece 12. In particular, stem of the mouthpiece or
drinking bite valve inlet has an outer diameter of 8 mm, whereas
the inner diameter 84 of the tube 74 has a production inner
diameter of about 7.6 mm. However, it is contemplated that the
inner diameter 84 of the tube 74 has a production inner diameter of
about 6 mm to about 9 mm.
[0028] More broadly, the outer cross-sectional configuration of the
tube 74 may be non-round but also aerodynamic in the direction of
airflow while the bicycle is moving forward. The outer
cross-sectional size of the tube 74 is limited to an inner diameter
84 sufficient for water flow to hydrate the rider. Additionally,
the tube 74 does not require a cover for aerodynamic purposes. The
exterior surface of the tube 74 is shaped to an aerodynamic
configuration.
[0029] The above description is given by way of example, and not
limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art
could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the
invention disclosed herein, including various ways of attaching the
mounting member to the aerobar. Further, the various features of
the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying
combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to
the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the
claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.
* * * * *